Review of Quest for Fire (1981) by Maineutral R — 22 Feb 2014

While it can be repetitive on some standing still scenes, Quest for Fire correctly portrays the early human race in its unexpected next step to evolve as a society. I'm going to be a bit too deep on why this works, because a film with practically no legible language surely requires some deep analysis.

Quest for Fire works because it does put on screen how the primitive human race started to learn, adapt, think and even communicate via signs, facial expressions and mimics, way before we learn to have actual dialogue. It puts also how important the fire was for the world, and it's even put correctly on the first text of the movie: having fire meant having life. Through the movie, we see how some tribes relentlessly killed for this element, how much they risked to get such element, how far they needed to go, and we even get to see how our main characters learn to produce fire instead of having to go to the other side of the earth to get it. This movie also subtly puts how important women are in our evolution and develop as a race: one of them teaches our main character to be loved and even how to make love...that's weird but adequate, somehow. Also, she teaches the main character's tribe to produce fire, so, mission accomplished. Overall, Quest for Fire is an analysis on the mind of the early human.

It also has some funny stuff there, never too slapstick to feel like a comedy. A film without legible dialogue sure is hard to make, but director Jean-Jacques Annaud nailed it with this movie's crispt direction, pacing, humor and good execution. An entertaining film about the origins of communication.